The aquatic ape hypothesis (AAH), often also referred to as aquatic ape theory (AAT), is a proposal that the evolutionary ancestors of modern humans spent a period of time adapting to a semiaquatic existence.[1][2] The hypothesis was first proposed by German pathologist Max Westenhöfer in 1942 and then independently by English marine biologist Alister Hardy in 1960; however, the arguments of both men failed to achieve significant popular notice. After Hardy, the theory's most prominent proponent was former television documentary writer Elaine Morgan, who wrote a series of books on the topic, and she achieved a larger awareness of the theory after her first work appeared in 1972. However, the scientific reception of her ideas remained mixed to negative, subject to several specific criticisms such as the lack of physical evidence offered